Founder and President Paul Wengender conceptualized Greater Good in 2015, and although his background didn’t start with brewing, all the components were there.

“I was a geneticist and worked in the pharmaceutical industry,” he said. “I enjoyed the way we process with yeast and microbial organisms. As it turns out, fermentation is used in a lot of places — like brewing.”

Located at 55 Millbrook St. in Worcester, Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company is America’s first all-Imperial brewing company, building high-end ales and lagers that range with the Imperial classification of alcohol — from 8-14% ABV.

Wengender began brewing back in 2006 for fun, starting at home and at places like Hopsters. He did so for a decade, but found that doing it that way was hit or miss. “There was a lot of variability in the results,” he said. “Some weren’t great, and some were good. In 2015, I used a friend’s process system, creating a high alcohol by volume (ABV), and it was tasty — the kind of beer we liked to drink. No one had claimed ABV, and that’s our trademark.”

That year, Wengender and his team test marketed in western Massachusetts, and they were a hit. “The market was going to teach us if we had a company or hobby,” he said. “We sold every last drop.”

Turns out, Wengender and his team had themselves a company.

As a Worcester guy, Wengender moved the company to Central Massachusetts and recruited his wife for sales and head brewer Shaun Radzuik. It was in 2016 when the search and evaluation of a brick-and-mortar facility happened. Flash forward, and they found themselves on Millbrook Street and couldn’t be happier with how the company has continued to grow. The company opened a taproom earlier this year.

“We brought JT Ethier on at the end of 2017 from popular craft brewery Trillium,” Wengender said. “He is our business manager. It’s key have someone like JT who has an understanding of the marketplace along with the experience.”

Wengender adds that since then, according to Atlas Distribution, Greater Good increased its sales in one year by 424 percent.

Among the various beers, there are a few standouts. “One of our signature beers is called Greylock — a 12% ABV New England IPA,” Wengender said. “This was a game-changer for us. It differentiated us from the mass IPA market.”

Greater Good’s highest grossing product is Pulp, another IPA at 8% ABV.

Wengender said the recent launch of Greater Good’s taproom-only beer, a secret brand called Soul Purpose, has also been a success. And speaking of the taproom ….

“The taproom is wide open and separate from the brewery, but the focal point is all the steel in the brewery/brew house,” Wengender said. “We have high ceilings, track lights, and our logo is moose skull that emphasizes the magnitude and permanence we like to wrap around our brand. When building the taproom, we thought about the industrial root of Worcester. We like to call it rustic industrial — concrete and steel, hand-welded furniture, concrete tables, etc. We have old Quinsigamond Bridge posts holding up the bar, which is about 80 feet in length, and 1,850 pounds of granite from White Mountains. It’s a simple, yet high magnitude, vibe.”

The brewery has live acoustic music Thursday through Saturday, is kid-friendly, has cornhole, picnic tables, ’80s classic video games and mega-size Connect Four and Jenga. There are plans to launch yoga on Sunday mornings!

Wengender and his team also designed the taproom with small kitchen, called TOAST, churning out high-quality artisanal food like grilled cheese and charcuterie boards that pair perfectly with their beers.

“Chef Brian Sysun is very creative and continually innovating. We also partner with Kummerspeck in Worcester for delicious sausage,” he said.

Want to have Greater Good beer at home? Greater Good has taproom-exclusive packaged beer and also makes its beer accessible to restaurants and package stores, as well as offering on-site sales. Pricing is comparable to the premium craft segment.

At the end of the day, Wengender and his team want to provide the Worcester community with the highest quality beer, food and experience possible.

“When we find a great supplier of the highest quality ingredients, we try to lock in and spare no expense making the best beer we can,” he said.

For more information, visit greatergoodimperials.com.

Rachel Shuster